53 days later, woman reunites with dog

Tuesday

Jun 25, 2013 at 4:12 PM

Here's a story with a happy ending. Kimberly Watts went 53 days searching for her golden retriever/shepherd mix until he was located.

BY DARRICK IGNASIAKThe Dispatch

SOUTHMONT | Here's a story with a happy ending.Kimberly Watts went 53 days searching for her golden retriever/shepherd mix until he was located about 2.5 miles away from her parents' home in Watership Downs on High Rock Lake. Harley, the dog, had escaped April 28 and was located Thursday after Watts did practically everything possible to find her dog.Among the measures Watts took to locate the 4 1/2-year-old dog were creating a Facebook page, passing out more than 1,000 fliers and posting 50 signs in and around High Rock Lake. Several people coached her in efforts to rescue the dog, and she set up feeding stations wherever there had been a sighting of Harley."I was so happy," Watts said of the dog being located.Watts, 26, adopted Harley when he was a puppy from the Humane Society in Charlotte. Her original intentions were to foster him for two weeks, but she grew fond of the dog and decided to keep him."He has been with me ever since," she said. "He has been an indoor dog."The search for the dog began when Harley slipped through a garage door along with another family dog. That dog returned but Harley didn't."We think he got into a blind panic with the storm and ran," she said.Harley had a microchip in him, which would allow whoever found him to take him to a veterinarian, and they could scan it to locate his owner. However, he had no tag on him, and Watts wants to send the message out for people to put tags on their dogs."A lot of people wanted to help," Watts said, referring to the search for Harley.Penny Camp, who lives off of Riverview Road, located Harley and called Watts. The dog had lost nearly 10 pounds and had several ticks on him. Watts was offering a $250 reward, but Camp declined to accept it."It was relief," Watts' boyfriend, Mac Jackson, said of Harley being located. "… It was over. (Kimberly) could finally relax."Watts wasn't able to go where Harley was located, but her mother, Ann Watts, and Donna Jones retrieved the dog."My mom came" to pick up Harley, she said. "When he saw my mom, he howled, danced and jumped. He was so happy."Jones, who lives off Riverwood Road, helped with the efforts to locate Harley. She spotted him on Gray Road roughly two weeks after he was reported being lost and immediately contacted Kimberly Watts. She had been involved in several occasions of rescuing dogs and tried to keep Watts from worrying about Harley starving to death."I told her that is the least of her worries," Jones said. "He'll find food."To view Harley's Facebook page, visit facebook.com/HopeforHarleyNC.

Darrick Ignasiak can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 217, or at darrick.ignasiak@the-dispatch.com.